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rainbowfic2012-04-13 11:01 am
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2012-04-13 11:01 am
Burnt Umber #11, Tea Rose #11, Tyrian Purple #9
Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Myrrosta
Colors: Burnt Umber #11 (Hohe Tauern), Tea Rose #11 (how quick come the reasons for approving what we like), Tyrian Purple #9 (trojan horse)
Styles/Supplies: Seed Beads, Charcoal, Graffiti for the Resurrection Challenge (Seed Beads challenge)
Word Count: 1,725
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; talk of premeditated murder
Summary: Sharlos has one last thing he has to do before he can get away.
Notes: I have never posted works with either of the characters here, so I guess they qualify for the challenge? Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
There was nothing to recommend the mountain pass, Sharlos thought. Its opening lay only two stone throws away from their current camp, and from his position he could see the sheer cliffs forming high walls tall enough to disappear into the moonless sky. He could hear the wind whistling through it, the gentlest breeze turned into a shrieking terror. Someone had made the passage, the Araithus--Merrus, his mind supplied spitefully, unwilling to honor the male with a title he didn't deserve--said. There was no evidence of a river bed, so someone must have carved it out, piece by piece, a wedge removed from the middle of a mountain.
There was a long list of candidates, each one unlikelier than the next. Ancient humans, perhaps--they'd come through here a thousand years ago, the stories said, with their armies of thousands, strong males who could be put to work on such a gargantuan task. Or the current human inhabitants, the ones Merrus called barbarians (Sharlos had once asked what that word meant, and when told was left feeling confused, as surely that described all humans?), could have chipped away at it for years. It could be the work of ekalaps, for this was their domain. Or even, if Merrus was to be believed (he wasn't, Sharlos thought), salkiys themselves, the ancient ones who had left behind their evil kin and come out of the mountains into the forests.
Sharlos silently saluted those mythical salkiys, because the mountains were a foul place. He had grown up in the shadow of them, in the valley known as Border Glory, and had never known a horizon without them. But he had never ventured farther than the foothills. Those salkiys who did were taken by the ekalaps, killed, tortured, raped, eaten.
But now they were here, all of them, all the army Merrus could muster up. Their numbers had been dwindling, not from warfare, but because of those salkiys who came into their right minds and left the forbidden ground. Sharlos would have been among them, but first he had to do something. It was unpleasant, both the task and allowing the mountains to swallow him in their terrible shadows, but it had to be done. None of the rest of the Circle could be trusted. Elligia had been the most dangerous and she had been cast out, but there were too many others who still felt loyalty to the false Araithus.
Merrus, the damned fool, wasn't even worried about their shrinking army. He kept saying the humans would come, led by the half-breed abomination he had befriended years before. But Sharlos had his own spies, and they had told him all was not well in the human's domain. Their soldiers didn't want to fight in the mountains any more than the salkiys did.
Sharlos checked the sky overhead; speaking of spies, his was late. The rest of the encampment--the ones who had stayed--were asleep, with a handful of guards patrolling the tree line and the pass. Sharlos wasn't worried about them, as evading guards stretched too thin over too large an area was something a child could manage, but he did begin to wonder if his spy had been caught by someone else. If so, she was already dead. All of his spies had their orders in the event they were captured.
He stoked the small fire one more time, telling himself that when it burned down again he would go to bed. As little as he liked it, there was a battle coming, and soon, and it would not do to be caught sleepless and bleary-eyed. He didn't want to die, and he couldn't desert yet, so there was nothing to do but fight for a lost cause.
A shadow sidled into his field of vision, dancing with the flames. Naol pushed back the hood of her cloak, holding her hands over the fire. "It's cold in the valley tonight."
"I was beginning to think you were dead."
She smirked. "I thought you would be camped farther from the pass. What if someone comes through it in the night?"
"There are guards.'
"The two half-grown males who wet themselves every time a leaf falls?"
Sharlos shook his head. "Do you have news for me, or are you just stealing my fire?"
Naol sat back and folded her hands in her cloak. "The Araithus was right. There's a human army, perhaps five thousand strong, camped along a river to the west. They'll be here within two days."
Sharlos looked back up at the sky. Well. It was vexing that Merrus had been right, but it did mean they all had a slightly better chance of actually surviving the coming battle. "Was the half-breed among them? Did you see him?"
"No," said Naol, "but that means nothing. I wasn't able to get close enough. They were all too alert."
Sharlos waved his hand. "You are part of the Circle."
"I'm not certain they would care." She scowled. "I got your information, Sharlos. I didn't want to die for it."
Sharlos nearly snapped something back, but it was true. He didn't want anyone to die for it, for any of it--except for one. Killing the one would save so many others, though. Sharlos had no delusions; what he was doing was murder. But whatever punishment the Goddess saw fit to inflict on him was worth it to save all the rest. He had already made that sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, in his heart. Was it so much to ask Naol to do her share?
"But you think it's his army?" he said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, the colors look right." Naol shrugged and leaned closer to the fire. "What do we do now? Do we go ahead even with the half-breed's presence?"
"You said two days," said Sharlos. "If we're quick, it'll be done before he even gets here."
Naol shook her head. "I think we should wait. You yourself told me the humans are not certain of this fight, and it's no secret that many of them hate us. If we wait until they're here, everyone will think it was one of them."
"If we wait until they're here, there is more chance someone will see that it wasn't," said Sharlos.
"And what is the word of a human against the Araithus's Circle?"
Sharlos nodded; she had a point. There were those who were still entirely loyal to Merrus, who already suspected of Sharlos's plots against him, but Merrus had no idea about that. He listened to what Sharlos said, and Sharlos had arranged it so that the worst of the troublemakers were left behind in Lenthyn: Durgo, that stupid child; and Naiddry, the one who had been tainted by humans even more than Merrus. He might have had more trouble if Elligia was still around, but Merrus had taken care of that one without any interference on Sharlos's part.
Actually, the humans' presence may be ideal. A plan began to form in Sharlos's head. It could work, and shift the blame to the humans. In fact, it would be even better if the half-breed himself came, too.
"Do you have it?" Naol asked.
Sharlos looked at her sharply. "I do," he said cautiously.
"May I see it?"
"It's safe."
Naol narrowed her eyes at him. "May I see it?" she repeated.
"Why do you want to see it?" asked Sharlos. "You know what it is. You know what it does."
"Who will do it?"
"I have someone," said Sharlos. A young salkiy, barely past his Third Ethret, who had been easily bribed with the promise of being made member of Sharlos's own Circle. "But we could do it differently. We could make it as a gift from the humans, let them give it to him freely. They will be responsible for the murder."
Naol frowned. "Why would a human give as a gift a thing it did not intend?"
"Honestly," said Sharlos, rolling his eyes. "A simple compulsion spell is all that's needed. The human will think it had the idea to begin with. If the half-breed is with them, I would like it to be him."
"He'll know a compulsion spell," said Naol. "He'll know how to throw it off, or he'll know to tell someone about it if he can't."
"I won't be putting the spell on him," said Sharlos.
"Then who?"
He smiled. "Thank you, Naol. Your information was most helpful, but I believe I'll be going to sleep now."
She grumbled, but said, "Where should I go next? I can't stay; I'm not supposed to be here."
Sharlos thought. "Go back to Lenthyn and await word there. Make sure Durgo and Naiddry don't do anything foolish in my absence." He had someone there already watching them, but it couldn't hurt to add another. "And make sure Elligia comes nowhere near the temple again." It had rattled him, the last time she had managed to sneak in, and he still had no idea how she had made it past the guards. "Find some way to deal with her permanently, if you have to." Normally he wouldn't ask anyone to kill--as Naol made readily apparent with her deep frown--but Elligia was someone he couldn't account for. He had tried to sway her to his side once, not long after Merrus cast her from the Circle, but she had refused. She still felt loyal to him, still loved him, even after what he had done to her. Merrus wouldn't let her near him, but there was still no telling how dangerous she was to Sharlos's plans. She could yet be hiding in these very mountains, ready to do something reckless out of misplaced affection for a salkiy who had never loved her. But if she had any sense, she could be plotting with Naiddry and the rest. They could overthrow Lenthyn while he was gone, so the more allies he had there, the better.
As Naol stood, he looked up at her. "Don't get caught."
She pulled the hood back over her head. "Have I ever?"
kay_brookeStory: The Myrrosta
Colors: Burnt Umber #11 (Hohe Tauern), Tea Rose #11 (how quick come the reasons for approving what we like), Tyrian Purple #9 (trojan horse)
Styles/Supplies: Seed Beads, Charcoal, Graffiti for the Resurrection Challenge (Seed Beads challenge)
Word Count: 1,725
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; talk of premeditated murder
Summary: Sharlos has one last thing he has to do before he can get away.
Notes: I have never posted works with either of the characters here, so I guess they qualify for the challenge? Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
There was nothing to recommend the mountain pass, Sharlos thought. Its opening lay only two stone throws away from their current camp, and from his position he could see the sheer cliffs forming high walls tall enough to disappear into the moonless sky. He could hear the wind whistling through it, the gentlest breeze turned into a shrieking terror. Someone had made the passage, the Araithus--Merrus, his mind supplied spitefully, unwilling to honor the male with a title he didn't deserve--said. There was no evidence of a river bed, so someone must have carved it out, piece by piece, a wedge removed from the middle of a mountain.
There was a long list of candidates, each one unlikelier than the next. Ancient humans, perhaps--they'd come through here a thousand years ago, the stories said, with their armies of thousands, strong males who could be put to work on such a gargantuan task. Or the current human inhabitants, the ones Merrus called barbarians (Sharlos had once asked what that word meant, and when told was left feeling confused, as surely that described all humans?), could have chipped away at it for years. It could be the work of ekalaps, for this was their domain. Or even, if Merrus was to be believed (he wasn't, Sharlos thought), salkiys themselves, the ancient ones who had left behind their evil kin and come out of the mountains into the forests.
Sharlos silently saluted those mythical salkiys, because the mountains were a foul place. He had grown up in the shadow of them, in the valley known as Border Glory, and had never known a horizon without them. But he had never ventured farther than the foothills. Those salkiys who did were taken by the ekalaps, killed, tortured, raped, eaten.
But now they were here, all of them, all the army Merrus could muster up. Their numbers had been dwindling, not from warfare, but because of those salkiys who came into their right minds and left the forbidden ground. Sharlos would have been among them, but first he had to do something. It was unpleasant, both the task and allowing the mountains to swallow him in their terrible shadows, but it had to be done. None of the rest of the Circle could be trusted. Elligia had been the most dangerous and she had been cast out, but there were too many others who still felt loyalty to the false Araithus.
Merrus, the damned fool, wasn't even worried about their shrinking army. He kept saying the humans would come, led by the half-breed abomination he had befriended years before. But Sharlos had his own spies, and they had told him all was not well in the human's domain. Their soldiers didn't want to fight in the mountains any more than the salkiys did.
Sharlos checked the sky overhead; speaking of spies, his was late. The rest of the encampment--the ones who had stayed--were asleep, with a handful of guards patrolling the tree line and the pass. Sharlos wasn't worried about them, as evading guards stretched too thin over too large an area was something a child could manage, but he did begin to wonder if his spy had been caught by someone else. If so, she was already dead. All of his spies had their orders in the event they were captured.
He stoked the small fire one more time, telling himself that when it burned down again he would go to bed. As little as he liked it, there was a battle coming, and soon, and it would not do to be caught sleepless and bleary-eyed. He didn't want to die, and he couldn't desert yet, so there was nothing to do but fight for a lost cause.
A shadow sidled into his field of vision, dancing with the flames. Naol pushed back the hood of her cloak, holding her hands over the fire. "It's cold in the valley tonight."
"I was beginning to think you were dead."
She smirked. "I thought you would be camped farther from the pass. What if someone comes through it in the night?"
"There are guards.'
"The two half-grown males who wet themselves every time a leaf falls?"
Sharlos shook his head. "Do you have news for me, or are you just stealing my fire?"
Naol sat back and folded her hands in her cloak. "The Araithus was right. There's a human army, perhaps five thousand strong, camped along a river to the west. They'll be here within two days."
Sharlos looked back up at the sky. Well. It was vexing that Merrus had been right, but it did mean they all had a slightly better chance of actually surviving the coming battle. "Was the half-breed among them? Did you see him?"
"No," said Naol, "but that means nothing. I wasn't able to get close enough. They were all too alert."
Sharlos waved his hand. "You are part of the Circle."
"I'm not certain they would care." She scowled. "I got your information, Sharlos. I didn't want to die for it."
Sharlos nearly snapped something back, but it was true. He didn't want anyone to die for it, for any of it--except for one. Killing the one would save so many others, though. Sharlos had no delusions; what he was doing was murder. But whatever punishment the Goddess saw fit to inflict on him was worth it to save all the rest. He had already made that sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, in his heart. Was it so much to ask Naol to do her share?
"But you think it's his army?" he said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, the colors look right." Naol shrugged and leaned closer to the fire. "What do we do now? Do we go ahead even with the half-breed's presence?"
"You said two days," said Sharlos. "If we're quick, it'll be done before he even gets here."
Naol shook her head. "I think we should wait. You yourself told me the humans are not certain of this fight, and it's no secret that many of them hate us. If we wait until they're here, everyone will think it was one of them."
"If we wait until they're here, there is more chance someone will see that it wasn't," said Sharlos.
"And what is the word of a human against the Araithus's Circle?"
Sharlos nodded; she had a point. There were those who were still entirely loyal to Merrus, who already suspected of Sharlos's plots against him, but Merrus had no idea about that. He listened to what Sharlos said, and Sharlos had arranged it so that the worst of the troublemakers were left behind in Lenthyn: Durgo, that stupid child; and Naiddry, the one who had been tainted by humans even more than Merrus. He might have had more trouble if Elligia was still around, but Merrus had taken care of that one without any interference on Sharlos's part.
Actually, the humans' presence may be ideal. A plan began to form in Sharlos's head. It could work, and shift the blame to the humans. In fact, it would be even better if the half-breed himself came, too.
"Do you have it?" Naol asked.
Sharlos looked at her sharply. "I do," he said cautiously.
"May I see it?"
"It's safe."
Naol narrowed her eyes at him. "May I see it?" she repeated.
"Why do you want to see it?" asked Sharlos. "You know what it is. You know what it does."
"Who will do it?"
"I have someone," said Sharlos. A young salkiy, barely past his Third Ethret, who had been easily bribed with the promise of being made member of Sharlos's own Circle. "But we could do it differently. We could make it as a gift from the humans, let them give it to him freely. They will be responsible for the murder."
Naol frowned. "Why would a human give as a gift a thing it did not intend?"
"Honestly," said Sharlos, rolling his eyes. "A simple compulsion spell is all that's needed. The human will think it had the idea to begin with. If the half-breed is with them, I would like it to be him."
"He'll know a compulsion spell," said Naol. "He'll know how to throw it off, or he'll know to tell someone about it if he can't."
"I won't be putting the spell on him," said Sharlos.
"Then who?"
He smiled. "Thank you, Naol. Your information was most helpful, but I believe I'll be going to sleep now."
She grumbled, but said, "Where should I go next? I can't stay; I'm not supposed to be here."
Sharlos thought. "Go back to Lenthyn and await word there. Make sure Durgo and Naiddry don't do anything foolish in my absence." He had someone there already watching them, but it couldn't hurt to add another. "And make sure Elligia comes nowhere near the temple again." It had rattled him, the last time she had managed to sneak in, and he still had no idea how she had made it past the guards. "Find some way to deal with her permanently, if you have to." Normally he wouldn't ask anyone to kill--as Naol made readily apparent with her deep frown--but Elligia was someone he couldn't account for. He had tried to sway her to his side once, not long after Merrus cast her from the Circle, but she had refused. She still felt loyal to him, still loved him, even after what he had done to her. Merrus wouldn't let her near him, but there was still no telling how dangerous she was to Sharlos's plans. She could yet be hiding in these very mountains, ready to do something reckless out of misplaced affection for a salkiy who had never loved her. But if she had any sense, she could be plotting with Naiddry and the rest. They could overthrow Lenthyn while he was gone, so the more allies he had there, the better.
As Naol stood, he looked up at her. "Don't get caught."
She pulled the hood back over her head. "Have I ever?"
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That said, wooo, intrigue! I like court games and politics a lot, and this just has that delicious edge of certainty that they're in the right with clever politics and murder. Good job.
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Thank you for reading!
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